Will Trump get rid of DACA?

President Trump ran on a platform of securing America’s borders and cracking down on illegal immigration. Over the past two years and since becoming president, President Trump has promised to get tough on illegal immigration.

“What we are going to do is get the people that are criminal and have criminal records, gang members, drug dealers, where a lot of these people, probably 2 million, it could be even 3 million, we are getting them out of our country or we are going to incarcerate,” Trump told 60 Minutes correspondent Lesley Stahl, according to a preview of the interview released by CBS. “But we’re getting them out of our country. They’re here illegally.”

Since he took office on January 20, 2017, illegal immigration was down 40 percent in the first month of the new administration, according to www.nytimes.com. In early September, he cancelled DACA, or the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a 2012 program that provides protection from deportation and provides a work permit.

Since announcing the cancellation of the DACA program, the President has said Congress will now be given six months to pass something legislatively to fix DACA, a program that President Obama enacted five years ago, saying while it is important to care for those who are in the program, the American people must come first.

“As I’ve said before, we will resolve the DACA issue with heart and compassion — while at the same time ensuring that any immigration reform we adopt provides enduring benefits for the American citizens we were elected to serve,” Trump said, according to cnn.com.

Top Democrat politicians have pushed back on the president’s decision to rescind the program, saying it goes against what America stands for.

“We are a compassionate nation,” Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan said. “A country that has empathy for a struggling family in a new country. A country that lifts up our younger generation so they can have a better future.”

With the president’s decision now made, it is up to Congress to decide if they will be able to come together to pass legislation to in regards to the DACA program. The president has stated if they are unable to do so he will revisit the issue, creating urgency among members of Congress to take quick action.

“So let’s stand together, let’s take heart and stand together and make sure that we do the right thing for the Dreamers,” Democratic Whip Senator Dick Durbin said,according to www.chicagotribune.com.

With many people being affected, this issue also has the attention of students.

“The dreamers should be granted temporary residency because they were promised protection if they declared themselves openly to the government,” senior Jackson Moeller said.

Now that the clock is ticking and the country is watching, the ball is in Congress’s court. It will be up to them to decide if they will be able to pass a resolution on the Dream Act. With there being close to 800,000 people in the program, according to latimes.com, it has the attention of a large number of people, waiting for Congress to come together to pass legislation.